F 

893 

.5 


WAR   EXPENSES   OF   WASHINGTON    AND   OREGON 
TERRITORIES. 


IM:  ISAAC  I.  STEVENS, 

OF  WASHINGTON, 


MADE  BEFORE  THE 


Cammiite  uf  llilitarg  Affairs  0f 


FRIDAY,  MARCH  15,  1860. 


WASHINGTON : 

THOMAS    McGILL,    PRINTER 

1860. 


.  %&  &jnncfaw^A0ru^ 

f/  £/ 


I  4*13 


REMARKS 


•ANQROFT  UBflAKY 

OP 

HON.  ISAAC  I.  STEVENS, 

OF  WASHINGTON, 

ON    THE 

WAR  EXPENSES  OF  WASHINGTON  A.ND  OREGON  TERRITORIES, 

MADE    BEFORE    THE 
COMMITTEE   OF   MILITARY   AFFAIRS   OF   THE    HOUSE,    FRIDAY,   MARCH   15m,   I860 


Mr.  CHAIRMAN  :  Before  proceeding  witli  my  remarks,   I  will 
,    request  that  the  bill  providing  for  the  payment  of  the  war  claims 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  be  first  read. 
The  bill  was  then  read,  as  follows  : 

A  BILL  for  the  payment  of  the  war  expenses  of  the  Territories  of  Oregon  and 
Washington  in  1855  and  1856. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  there  be,  and  hereby  is,  appropriated  out 
of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  whatever  amount 
may  be  necessary  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  defray  the  expenses 
necessarily  incurred  by  the  territorial  governments  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
in  the  suppression  of  Indian  hostilities  therein,  in  the  years  1855  and  1856,  so 
far  as  the  claims  growing  out  of  said  war  have  been  adjudicated  by  the  com 
missioners  appointed  for  that  purpose,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  the  eleventh 
section  of  the  act  of  the  18th  August,  1856,  entitled  "  An  act  making  appro 
priations  for  certain  civil  expenses  of  the  government,  for  the  year  ending  30th 
June,  1857,"  and  have  been  reported  to  the  War  Department,  by  said  commis 
sioners,  for  payment. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  amounts  severally  found  due  to  the  parties 
contained  in  the  report  of  the  said  commissioners,  shall  be  paid  to  the  said  par 
ties  respectively,  or  their  legal  representatives,  or  to  the  assignees  or  attorneys, 
duly  constituted  and  appointed  by  said  parties,  anything  in  the  act  approved 
July  29,  1846,  or  in  the  act  of  February,  1853,  to  the  contrary  notwithstand 
ing. 

This  bill  provides  for  the  payment  of  the  war  debt  of  Oregon 
and  Washington,  according  to  the  awards  of  the  commission. 
This  commission  was  appointed  under  the  authority  of  an  act  of 
Congress,  and  we  hold  that  its  decisions  are  binding  upon  Con 
gress,  unless  fraud  or  a  want  of  jurisdiction  can  be  established. 
I  take  it  for  granted  that  this  committee  do  not  desire  me  to  go 
into  the  origin  and  causes  of  the  war  ;  that  they  will  assume  as 
fundamental,  that  it  was  a  necessary  and  inevitable  war  ;  that  it 
was  forced  upon  us  by  a  most  extraordinary  combination  of  the 
Indian  tribes  in  those  distant  territories,  and  that  the  very  ne 
cessity  of  self-protection  compelled  the  organization  of  the  citizen 
troops  of  those  territories,  and  the  operations  which  they  under 
took  against  the  Indians.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  point 
which  this  committee  design  to  consider  is,  as  to  whether  the 
awards  of  the  commission  shall  be  sustained  ? — in  other  words, 


that  it  is  simply  a  question  as  to  prices,  for  the  services  of  men, 
and  for  supplies,  transportation,  &c. 

Mr.  STANTON.  We  have  doubts  about  the  very  thing  which 
you  take  as  fundamental.  We  do  not  know  that  it  was  necessary 
to  call  out  the  troops — at  least,  to  the  extent  that  they  were  called 
out.  We  deem  the  matter  still  an  open  question,  and  we  would 
like  some  explanations  about  those  points. 

Mr.  STEVENS.  I  am  perfectly  ready  to  make  those  expla 
nations  now,  although  I  came  here  not  expecting  that  these  points 
would  be  a  matter  of  inquiry  or  doubt,  and  have,  therefore,  not 
prepared  myself  especially  for  it.  Some  of  my  authorities  are 
not  here  ;  still  I  am  perfectly  ready  at  once  to  enter  into  the 
explanations  desired  by  the  committee. 

Mr.  OLIN.  Looking  through  the  despatches,  I  find  that  Gen. 
Wool  and  other  officers  make  serious  and  weighty  charges  against 
the  people  of  the  territory,  and  express  the  strongest  judgment 
that  there  was  no  necessity  for  calling  out  the  volunteers.  I 
wish  to  ask,  can  you  point  out  the  official  reports — can  you  point 
out  the  special  affidavits  rebutting  and  disproving  these  charges 
and  statements  of  Gen.  Wool  ? 

Mr.  STEVENS.  Before  replying  to  these  questions,  I  have  got 
to  assume  certain  things  as  conceded  and  established.  I  demand 
that  before  this  committee  the  report  or  statement  of  a  civil  officer 
shall  have  precisely  the  same  weight — no  more,  no  less — as  that 
of  a  military  officer.  I  demand  that  the  official  report  or  state 
ment  of  the  Governor  of  Oregon  or  of  the  Governor  of  Washing 
ton  shall  have  the  same  weight  as  the  official  report  of  Major- 
Gen.  John  E.  Wool,  commanding  the  department  of  the  Pacific  ; 
and  that  the  reports  of  Indian  agents,  or  officers  in  the  volunteer 
service,  or  of  citizens  of  acknowledged  character  and  integrity 
in  the  two  territories,  shall  have  the  same  weight  as  the  reports 
or  certificates  of  officers  of  the  army  or  gentlemen  elsewhere. 
Now,  in  answer  to  the  question  of  my  friend,  Mr.  OLIN,  I  will 
first  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the  general  character 
of  the  charges  of  Gen.  WTool  against  the  people  and  the  volun 
teer  service  of  those  two  territories.  These  charges  run  through 
ail  of  Gen.  Wool's  official  reports,  and  are  notorious  throughout 
the  whole  country.  He  states  that  the  war  was  a  godsend  to 
the  people  of  those  territories ;  that  the  idea  of  plundering  the 
public  treasury  had  much  to  do  with  commencing  and  continu 
ing  the  war  ;  that  it  was  a  scheme  of  plunder  upon  the  public 
treasury  ;  that  the  people  of  both  territories  were  Indian  exter 
minators  ;  that  the  executives  of  both  territories  were  Indian 
exterminators;  that  these  executives  did  not  wish  the- war 
brought  to  an  end,  but  desired  to  keep  it  in  progress  as  long  as 
they  could  find  any  pretext  for  it.  These  are  Gen.  Wool's 
charges,  as  given  in  his  official  reports.  Now,  these  same  execu 
tives,  in  their  official  reports,  most  emphatically  deny  the  truth 


of  those  charges.  The  people  of  those  territories  most  emphati 
cally  deny  the  truth  of  those  charges.  The  Indian  officers 
throughout  the  Territory  of  Washington,  and,  with  but  one  ex 
ception,  in  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  deny  those  charges.  The 
commission  instituted  by  government  discredits  entirely  those 
charges.  The  special  agents  of  the  government  sent  out  to  that 
coast  for  the  express  purpose  of  inquiring  into  Indian  affairs 
scout  at  those  charges,  and  declare  them  monstrous  and  absurd. 
We  have,  upon  one  side,  Gen.  Wool  and  some  one  or  two  officers, 
and,  upon  the  other  side,  the  entire  population  of  the  two  terri 
tories,  and  public  functionaries  in  all  branches  of  the  public  service, 
many  of  them  strangers  to  the  country  and  entirely  disinterested. 
More  than  this,  Gen.  Wool's  own  reports  afford  internal  evidence 
that  those  charges  cannot  possibly  be  true.  He  admits  that  in 
the  Territory  of  Washington  many  thousands  of  friendly  Indians 
were  cared  for,  fed,  and  protected,  during  this  Indian  war.  Now, 
under  whose  charge  were  they  ?  They  were  under  the  charge 
of  the  very  territorial  executive  whom  Gen.  Wool  denounces  as 
an  Indian  exterminator,  and  holds  up  to  the  public  as  one  who 
did  not  want  the  war  brought  to  a  conclusion  ;  for  the  executive 
of  Washington  was  also  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs.  Now, 
it  is  obvious — every  man  of  this  comtoittee  sees  it — that  the  au 
thority  which,  through  disaffection  upon  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
and  great  suffering  and  exasperation  upon  the  part  of  the  white 
people,  did  protect,  care  for,  quiet,  and  make  entirely  friendly, 
thousands  of  Indians,  could  not  have  been  an  authority  in  favor 
of  exterminating  the  Indians,  and  of  prolonging  the  war. 

Let  us  turn  now  to  the  origin  of  the  war.  Our  population 
was  a  population  of  families,  who  for  the  most  part  had  made 
their  way  over  the  plains,  and  with  great  toil  and  suffering,  and 
at  great  expense,  had  established  homes  upon  the  western  shore. 
Their  interests  were  peace  ;  they  were  looking  to  the  increase 
of  population,  the  enhancement  in  the  value  of  property,  and 
especially  to  an  overland  emigration.  Nothing  did  they  desire 
so  much  as  peace ;  nothing  did  they  deplore  so  much  as  the 
prospect  of  war.  The  war  came  upon  them  like  a  thunderbolt. 
Every  one  was  disposed  to  discredit  the  many  rumors  which  ob 
tained  in  that  country  months  before  the  war  broke  out,  that 
hostilities  were  probable.  They  had  few  or  no  private  arms. 
Our  miners  passing  through  the  Yakima  country,  some  twenty 
in  number,  were  killed,  and  the  regular  troops  under  Major 
Haller  defeated.  The  massacres  in  southern  Oregon  and  on 
White  river  closely  followed.  Volunteers  came  into  the  service 
in  consequence  of  the  requisition  of  Major  Rains,  who  called 
upon  the  executives  of  both  territories  to  furnish  troops,  the  regu 
lar  force  being  deemed  by  him  to  be  inadequate.  The  defeat  of 
Major  Haller,  and  the  massacres  in  southern  Oregon,  on  White 
river,  and  of  the  miners  in  the  Yakima  country,  convinced  all 


men,  both  officers  of  the  regular  service  and  the  territorial  au 
thorities,  that  a  general  Indian  outbreak  was  upon  them,  and  that 
the  most  prompt  and  decisive  course  must  be  taken  to  prevent 
infinite  injury,  and  indeed  the  entire  wiping  out  of  the  settle 
ments. 

Mr.  STANTON.  Will  you  explain  why  the  volunteers  were 
not  mustered  into  the  regular  service  ? 

Mr.  STEVENS.  I  shall  look  to  my  friend  from  Oregon  [Mr. 
STOUT]  to  make  the  answer  to  this  question  to  the  committee,  so 
far  as  Oregon  is  concerned.  As  regards  Washington  Territory, 
the  troops  were  mustered  into  the  regular  service  at  first ;  and 
not  only  this,  but  the  regular  officers  absolutely  took  the  initia 
tive,  and  received  troops  before  the  territorial  executive  could 
act,  and  then  asked  his  approval.  But  as  the  danger  increased, 
other  companies  were  raised  than  those  required  by  Major  Rains, 
some  of  which  were  mustered,  and  some  of  which  were  not  mus 
tered,  into  the  regular  service.  There  were  on  the  Sound  some 
five  companies  in  all  mustered  into  the  regular  service. 

Mr.  OLIN.  Will  you  explain  this  statement  in  your  message 
to  the  Legislature  ? 

"Whenever  it  is  practicable  or  expedient,  it  is  best  that  volunteers  should 
be  mustered  into  the  United  States  service.  It  should  go  to  the  authorities  at 
home  that  we  endeavored  to  co-operate  with  the  regular  service.  But  there 
has  been  a  breach  of  faith.  Troops  mustered  into  service  were  disbanded  in 
violation  of  a  positive  understanding ;  and  it  is  now  proper  that  the  authori 
ties  of  this  Territory  should  conduct  the  movements  of  their  own  troops,  co 
operating  with  the  regulars  where  such  co-operation  can  be  effected.  I  there 
fore  do  not  think  the  volunteers  of  this  Territory  should  be  mustered  into  the  reg 
ular  service.  I  am  ready  to  take  the  responsibility  of  raising  them  independent 
of  that  service,  and  it  is  due  to  the  Territory,  and  to  myself,  that  the  reasons 
for  assuming  it  should  go  to  the  President  and  the  departments  at  Washing-, 
ton." 

Give  all  the  circumstances  in  relation  to  it. 

Mr.  STEVENS.  This  statement  can  be  established  by  the 
most  conclusive  evidence.  When  the  war  broke  out  I  was  oil 
the  Missouri  river,  one  of  the  commissioners  to  make  a  treaty 
with  the  Blackfeet  and  other  tribes  of  Indians.  The  acting 
Governor  of  Washington  was  exceedingly  anxious  about  my 
safety.  It  was  believed  in  the  settlements,  not  only  that  the  Yaki- 
mas  who  had  defeated  Major  Haller,  were  in  arms,  but  the 
Cayuses  and  the  Walla  Wallas ;  and  even  no  confidence  was 
placed  in  the  Nez  Perces,  the  Spokanes,  and  the  adjoining  tribes. 
There  had  been  reports  current  for  two  months  previously,  that 
my  whole  party  and  myself  had  been  cut  off  by  these  Indians  ; 
and  it  was  well  known  that  I  would  deem  it  to  be  my  duty  to  re 
turn  home  through  the  country  occupied  by  these  hostile  bands. 
Acting  Gov.  Mason  went  to  the  Columbia  river  to  make  arrange 
ments  to  send  forward  troops  to  my  assistance.  A  company 
was  raised  under  the  command  of  Capt.  William  McKay,  and  an 
agreement  was  had  first  with.  Lieut.  Withers  and  then  with  Maj. 


,  that  this  company  should  be  mustered  into  the  regular 
service,  and,  under  the  general  direction  of  special  agent  B.  F. 
Shaw,  be  sent  to  my  assistance.  On  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Wool, 
he  absolutely  refused  to  recognize  this  arrangement,  and  pro 
hibited  the  officers  in  command  upon  the  river  from  mustering  them 
into  the  regular  service  ;  and  the  company  was  in  consequence 
disbanded.  These  facts  I  have  from  Major  Rains  himself,  from 
special  agent  B.  F.  Shaw,  and  also  from  Capt.  McKay  ;  and 
thus  the  arrangements  made  by  the  acting  governor  to  provide 
for  my  coming  in,  proved  entirely  abortive  through  the  action  of 
Gen.  Wool.  This  was  one  of  many  reasons  why,  in  my  judgment, 
so  long  as  Gen.  Wool  was  in  command,  a  proper  self-respect  and 
regard  for  the  public  safety  made  it  incumbent  on  us  to  manage 
•our  own  affairs — co-operating  so  far  as  we  could  with  the  troops 
of  the  regular  service,  but  keeping  the  two  organizations  dis 
tinct. 

I  will  here  remark  that  the  movement  of  the  Oregon  volun 
teers  to  the  Walla  Walla,  in  November,  1855,  which  General 
Wool  so  vehemently  and  bitterly  condemns,  defeated  the  very 
Indians  who  had  sworn  to  cut  off  my  party,  and  who  absolutely 
blocked  up  my  road  to  the  settlements.  And  this  reminds  me 
of  another  charge  made  by  Gen.  Wool  and  Capt.  T.  J.  Cram, 
that  Pu-pu-mux-mux,  the  Walla  Walla  chief,  was  treacherously 
slain.  Now  I  had  the  most  indubitable  evidence,  which  I  collected 
in  the  Indian  country  on  my  way  back,  that  Pu-pu-mux-mux  was 
the  great  head  and  front  of  this  Indian  outbreak.  I  had  full 
conferences  with  the  prominent  chiefs  of  the  Nez  Perces,  who 
went  on  a  special  embassy  to  Pu-pu-mux-mux,  and  the  head 
chief  of  the  Cayuses,  to  dissuade  them  from  embarking  in  hos 
tilities.  I  know  the  exact  conversation  of  Pu-pu-mux-mux  in 
reply  to  these  men  ;  all  their  intercessions  and  all  their  advice 
were  scorned  and  rejected.  One  of  these  Nez  Perces  chiefs 
was  Joseph,  an  old  man  of  more  than  seventy  years  of  age, 
and  a  man  of  acknowledged  probity  and  character.  In  re 
gard  to  the  circumstances  of  the  death  of  Pu-pu-mux-mux, 
we  have  the  official  report  of  Col.  Kelly,  a  gentleman  of  the 
highest  standing  in  Oregon,  and  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in 
that  State,  corroborated  by  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  affair. 
No  man  can  or  dare  impeach  this  testimony.  It  establishes 
conclusively  that  Pu-pu-mux-mux  was  a  prisoner  of  war,  and 
that  in  the  very  height  of  the  battle  of  the  Walla  Walla  he 
was  killed  in  an  attempt  to  escape  from  his  guard.  He  had 
jumped  upon  his  guard,  seized  his  gun,  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
violent  struggle  he  was  killed.  I  have  myself  conversed  with 
the  eye-witnesses  of  this  affair,  and  especially  with  Lieut.  Shep 
herd,  afterwards  of  the  Washington  volunteers,  a  man  whose 
word  is  his  bond,  and  who  is  incapable  of  falsehood  or  prevarica 
tion  ;  and  they  all  go  to  sustain  the  absolute  truth  of  the  report 
of  Col.  Kelly.  * 


Speaking  of  Thomas  Jefferson  Cram,  he  says  :  there  is  abund 
ant  evidence  to  show  that  the  chief  who  urged  the  tribes  into 
hostility,  who  plundered  the  property,  and  burned  the  houses  of  the 
settlers,  was  not  Pu-pu-mux-mux,  but  the  Yellow  Serpent.  This 
intelligent  and  veracious  witness  did  not  know  enough  of  Indian 
affairs  in  that  country  to  know  what  everybody  else  did  know — 
that  Pu-pu-mux-mux  and  the  Yellow  Serpent  were  one  and  the 
same  man  ! 

At  this  stage  of  my  remarks,  I  will  call  the  special  attention 
of  this  committee  to  the  kind  of  work  I  was  at  on  my  way  home, 
in  view  of  the  reiterated  charges  against  my  own  personal  and  offi 
cial  character.  So  far  from  stirring  up  war,  I  came  among  the 
Indians  as  a  messenger  of  peace,  spending  whole  days  among  the 
Ooeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes,  to  remove  their  apprehensions,  to 
soften  their  hostility,  and  to  restore  their  good  feeling  towards 
us — in  which,  for  the  time  being,  I  was  completely  successful, 
if  Gen.  Wool's  charge  were  true  that  I  was  an  Indian  extermina 
tor,  I  would  not  have  gone  among  these  Indians  in  order  to 
secure  their  friendship,  when  I  might  have  avoided  them,  as  I 
easily  could  have  done.  To  this  same  point  all  my  exertions 
were  directed  in  the  Nez  Perces  country,  where  there  was  some 
disaffection,  although  less  than  in  the  other  tribes. 

Gen.  Wool  was  evidently  laboring  under  the  grossest  misap 
prehension  as  to  the  motives  he  ascribed  to  the  public  function 
aries  in  those  Territories  and  the  people  ;  and  I  submit  to  the 
committee  whether  the  severest  scrutiny  should  not  be  exercised 
in  reference  to  any  charge  he  may  make  against  the  people  and 
authorities  in  regard  to  that  war.  All  the  facts  which  I  have 
mentioned  to  this  committee  in  regard  to  my  connection  with  the 
Indian  service  are  matters  of  official  record  in  the  Indian  depart 
ment. 

Now,  the  gentlemen  of  this  committee  cannot  begin  to  appre 
ciate  the  distressed  and  heart-rending  condition  of  the  entire 
population  of  Washington,  and  nearly  the  entire  population  of 
Oregon,  at  this  time.  I  reached  the  capital  of  the  Territory  of 
Washington,  on  the  19th  of  January,  the  war  having  then  been 
in  progress  some  three  months.  I  found  the  citizens  through 
that  entire  territory  in  block  houses.  Everywhere  the  farmers 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  their  homes,  and  with  their  wives  and 
children  to  go  into  block  houses  for  protection.  So  large  a  force 
was  in  the  field,  operating  against  the  Indians,  that  this  course 
was  indispensable  to  prevent  the  most  shocking  scenes  of  mas 
sacre.  It  was  believed  by  many  persons  that  if  they  remained  in 
the  territory  they  would  starve.  The  great  point  was  to  see  if 
the  war  could  not  be  brought  to  a  close  by  a  vigorous  campaign, 
in  order  that  the  farmers  might  get  in  their  spring  crops.  To 
this  point  we  moved  everything.  I,  myself,  travelled  all  over 
the  territory,  appealing  to  the  citizens  to  stand  by  us,  endeavor- 


ing  to  encourage  them  everywhere  ;  and  I  also  visited  all  the 
Indian  tribes,  in  order  that  no  exertion  might  be  spared  that 
should  tend  to  soothe  their  discontented  spirits,  and  to  restore  to 
them  their  former  confidence  in  our  government.  The  official 
reports  and  records  on  the  files  of  the  department  show  that  the 
most  anxious  vigilance  was  exercised.  The  reports  to  the  War 
Department  and  to  the  Indian  Department  were  exceedingly  full 
and  minute.  As  Indian  superintendent,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to 
report  to  the  Indian  Department  every  case  of  the  unauthorized 
killing  of  Indians  by  white  men.  No  such  case  was  reported  for 
the  first  six  months  of  the  war,  because  no  case  of  unauthorized 
killing  occurred  during  those  six  months.  The  committee  will 
see  what  a  triumphant  and  splendid  vindication  this  fact  is,  of  the 
character  of  that  people,  against  these  cruel  and  scandalous 
•charges  of  Gren.  Wool  and  others.  Recollect,  they  were  living 
in  block  houses.  They  were  in  great  suffering.  Many  lives  had 
been  lost  by  massacre  ;  much  property  had  been  destroyed  ;  and 
yet,  for  six  months,  no  case  of  unauthorized  killing  occurred. 
When  the  public  mind  became  persuaded  that  the  war  might 
be  ended  by  a  vigorous  and  decisive  campaign,  so  that  the 
farmers  could  get  in  their  spring  crops,  the  idea  of  leaving 
the  territory  was  abandoned ;  all  persons  determined  to  stand 
by  the  territory,  and  they  did  stand  by  the  territory.  And  this 
brings  me  to  my  refusal  to  comply  with  a  requisition  of  Col. 
Casey,  in  March,  1856,  for  two  companies  of  volunteers  to  be 
mustered  into  the  regular  service.  At  the  time  this  requisition 
was  made,  our  troops  were  actually  in  the  Indian  country,  fight 
ing  the  hostile  Indians,  with  ample  supplies  and  transportation 
for  the  movements  which,  in  our  judgment,  would  conquer  a 
peace  ;  and  my  judgment  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  the 
safety  of  the  territory  and  the  public  interests  with  which  I  was 
charged,  demanded  at  my  hands  that  those  means  should  be  vig 
orously  applied  according  to  the  plan  which  had  already  been 
determined  on.  The  correspondence  is  given  in  full  in  this  vol 
ume  which  I  have  before  me,  to  which  I  will  particularly  invite 
the  attention  of  the  committee.* 

Mr.  STANTON.  There  is  another  point  which  we  would  be 
glad  to  have  you  explain.  We  do  not  understand  the  necessity 
of  the  operations  of  Col.  Shaw  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains. 
Will  you  be  pleased  to  give  an  account  of  that? 

Mr.  STEVENS.  I  will  remind  the  committee  of  the  fact  that 
throughout  that  war  I  took  the  necessary  measures  to  get  the 
most  minute  and  accurate  information  in  regard  to  the  whole  in 
terior  of  the  country.  There  was  organized  a  system  of  ex 
presses,  which  reached  every  band  and  tribe  east  of  the  Cascades. 

*  Message  and  accompanying  documents  of  the  Governor  of  Washington 
Territory,  4th  session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly. 


Through  our  Indian  expresses  and  spies  \ve  ascertained  the  de 
signs  of  the  hostile  Indians,  learned  the   proceedings   of  their 
councils,  and  the  steps  which  from  time  to  time  they  took  to  in 
duce   Indians,    before    friendly,    to  join  them   in  making    war 
upon  the  white  population.     In  the  Nez  Perces   country  there 
was  an  Indian  agent  of  great  experience  and  knowledge  of  the 
Indians,  with  some  white  settlers,  upon  whom  1  relied  very  much 
for  information  with  regard  to  that  country.      A  portion  of  the 
Nez  Perces  chiefs,  and  the  head  chief  Lawyer  especially,  were  of 
unyielding  loyalty,  and  were  determined  to  maintain  the  peace 
of  the  tribe.    I  had  message  after  message  from  the  chiefs  of  the 
Nez  Perces,  imploring  me  to   send  troops  there,  informing  me 
that  a  portion  of  the  Nez  Perces  had  already  become  hostile  and 
embittered  against  the  whites,  and  that  Kamiakin  and  the  Yaki- 
mas  were  coming  into  that  country  all  the  time  to  increase   the 
disaffection,  and  that  there  would  be  a  general  Indian  war  unless 
troops  came  there.     I  determined  that  I  would  not  send  troops 
east  of  the  Cascades  if  it  was  a  part  of  the  purpose  of  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  regular  troops,  Col.  Wright,  to  send  them  to 
the  country  where  they  were  so  much  needed — that   is,  to  the 
Walla  Walla  country.  This  movement  would  have  broken  up  the 
hostile  combination  east  of  the  Columbia,  and  have  relieved  the 
Nez  Perces.     I  first  corresponded  with  Col.  Wright,  and  ascer 
tained  from  him  that  he  did  not  intend  to  send  troops  there. 
I  advised  him  of  my  information  in  regard  to  the  disposition 
of  those  Indians,  and  the  probability  of  an  outbreak  there  ;  and 
then  I  conceived  it  to  be  my  duty  to  send  a  considerable  force, 
with  the  view  of  checking  it  in  the  very  bud.     As  Indian  super 
intendent,   I  sent  to  the  Nez  Perces  and  other  friendly  Indians 
quite  a  large  amount  of  provisions,  clothing,  and  other  articles 
required  for  their  comfort.      The  whole  force   rendezvoused  at 
Walla   Walla,    consisting  of  nearly  four   hundred  volunteers. 
There  they  met  the  Nez  Perces  in  council.      Everything  seemed 
to  be  peaceable — so  much  so  that  the  special  agent,  Robie,  went 
into  the  Nez  Perces  country  with  a  hundred  pack  loads  of  pro 
visions  and  goods  for  them,  without  an  escort.     So  hostile  and 
disaffected  and  threatening  did  he   find  a  large  portion    of  the 
Nez  Perces,  that  it  was  requisite  for  his  safety  that  he  should 
return  immediately,  and  he  moved  one  hundred  miles  without 
camping.     When  they  learned,   however,  of  the  defeat  of  the 
Indians  at  Burnt  river,  and  especially  of  the  victory  of  Colonel 
Shaw,  at  Grande  Ronde, — which  was  a  most  decisive  and  hardly- 
contested  fight,  where  the  volunteers  attacked  the  Indians  and 
drove  them,  fighting  hand  to  hand  some  fifteen  miles,   killing 
some  forty  to  sixty  Indians,  mostly  with  the  revolver, — the  Nez 
Perces  became  friendly  again.     This  brief  recital  will  show  to 
you  the  exact  condition  of  things  in  that  interior,  and  that  I 
had  not  mistaken  the  signs  of  the  times,  establishing  the  neces 
sity  of  the  movement  under  Col.  Shaw. 


9 

Immediately  on  the  battle  of  Grande  Ronde,  the  Indians  gen 
erally,  not  only  the  Nez  Perces,  but  the  other  tribes,  sent  mes 
sages  to  me,  requesting  me  to  come  to  the  Walla  Walla  and  to  see 
if  some  general  arrangement  could  be  made.  They  all  express 
ed  the  most  sincere  and  earnest  desire  that  there  should  be  a 
total  end  of  all  difficulty.  Accordingly,  I  went  to  the  Walla 
Walla  and  called  the  tribes  into  council.  For  reasons  which  are 
given  at  length  in  my  official  report,  the  council  did  not  succeed, 
and  no  arrangement  was  made.  This,  however,  is  adduced  to 
show  to  your  minds  that  there  was  every  disposition  to  avail  our 
selves  of  any  and  all  opportunities  to  end  that  war,  either  by 
the  open  and  manly  field  fight,  or  by  the  friendly  conference. 

At  this  point,  I  will  call  your  attention  to  a  matter  referred 
to  in  Geri.  Wool's  letter  given  in  the  auditor's  report,  wherein 
he  refers  to  the  two  companies  called  out  by  proclamation  in 
August,  1856.  These  companies  were  called  out  by  proclama 
tion,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  contingencies.  At  the  same  time,  I 
communicated  with  Col.  Wright  to  ascertain,  for  the  second  time, 
whether  he  intended  to  move  troops  to  the  Walla  Walla  ;  and 
when  I  ascertained  that  he  did  intend  to  move  troops  to  the 
Walla  Walla,  not  only  did  I  revoke  this  proclamation,  but  I  took 
immediate  steps  to  withdraw  all  the  troops  from  the  Walla  Walla 
under  Col.  Shaw,  and  actually,  before  the  council  was  com 
menced  there,  did  send  down  below  all  but  one  company  of  about 
75  men.  So  anxious  was  I  to  reduce  and  do  away  with  the 
organization,  that  at  the  very  time  when  it  might  be  supposed 
that  I  would  most  of  all  require  troops,  I  stripped  myself  of  all 
but  one  company,  relying  upon  the  presence  of  the  regular  troops 
as  answering  every  sufficient  purpose.  These  regular  troops 
had  just  arrived.  All  these  facts  show  that  the  executive  of 
Washington  was  acting  in  perfect  good  faith  throughout  all  these 
transactions.  SBfiworr  LI»»A*> 

In  regard  to  Cram's  report,  to  which  allusion  has  been  made, 
I  will  state,  in  general  terms,  that  it  is  most  grossly  inaccurate, 
and  very  discreditable  to  that  officer.  He  has  picked  up  and 
endorsed  the  idle,  ridiculous  rumors  which  pass  from  mouth  to 
mouth  in  an  Indian,  and  particularly  in  a  disturbed  Indian, 
country ;  gathering  strength  from  moment  to  moment,  and 
assuming  all  conceivable  shapes — improbable,  absurd,  and  con 
tradictory — throughout  their  various  course.  We  have  a  class 
of  men  in  that  country,  and  some  of  them  very  good,  well-mean 
ing  men,  who  have  lived  among  Indians  so  long  that  their  minds 
assimilate  to  those  of  the  Indians.  They  will  not  believe  any 
thing  wrong  of  an  Indian  ;  if  they  should  see  an  Indian  kill  a 
white  man  before  their  eyes,  they  would  not  believe  it.  They 
are  perfect  idiosyncrasists  in  this  respect ;  and  it  is  this  class 
who  have  aided  in  giving  currency  to  the  ridiculous  and  absurd 
statements  which  Capt.  Cram  endorses.  The  accurate  knowl- 


10 

edge  of  Capt.  Cram,  in  the  account  he  gives  of  the  respective 
parts  played  by  Pu-pu-mux-mux  and  the  Yellow  Serpent  is  a 
commentary,  and  a  fit  commentary,  upon  the  accuracy  and  truth 
of  his  whole  paper,  so  far  as  Indian  operations  are  concerned. 
Whenever  this  committee  desire  it,  I  am  prepared  to  take  his 
whole  paper  step  by  step,  point  by  point,  and  to  demonstrate  the 
truth  of  what  I  have  stated ;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that 
it  is  necessary  to  occupy  the  time  of  this  committee  now  by  any 
further  reference  to  Capt.  Cram. 

Passing  now  from  these  questions  to  the  proposition  before  the 
committee,  we  ask  and  we  demand,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of 
Oregon  and  Washington,  that  Congress  pay  our  war  claims  ac 
cording  to  the  awards  of  the  commission  instituted  by  authority 
of  Congress.  We  hold  that  these  claims  have  been  adjusted  by 
law.  We  hold  that  they  have  been  approved  by  all  the  depart 
ments  of  the  government ;  first,  by  Congress,  in  instituting  the 
commission  ;  second,  by  the  executive  branch,  which,  though  fully 
advised  of  the  operations  of  the  volunteer  service  in  both  terri 
tories,  never  sent  in  reply  a  word  of  reproof  or  remonstance. 
The  executive  department  manifestly  sustained  the  ground  of  the 
executives  of  those  territories,  that  in  time  of  war,  invasion,  and 
peril,  a  discretion  did  vest  with  them  to  take  such  measures  as 
they  deemed  absolutely  indispensable  to  repel  invasion,  arid  to 
free  the  country  from  war  and  peril.  Will  this  committee  take 
the  ground  that  the  action  of  that  commission  should  be  vitiated 
for  fraud,  or  for  want  of  jurisdiction  ?  Nobody  will  contend 
that  they  did  not  have  jurisdiction,  because  it  was  conferred  upon 
them  by  the  very  letter  of  the  law  of  Congress,  and  by  the  in 
structions,  under  that  law,  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  high 
character  of  that  commission  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  there 
was  no  fraud  so  far  as  they  were  personally  concerned,  and  that 
they  were  not  likely  to  be  imposed  on  by  the  fraudulent  repre 
sentations  of  others.  Recollect,  those  gentlemen  were  all  familiar 
with  the  operations  in  that  country.  They  were  familiar  with 
the  regular  service ;  they  were  familiar  with  the  volunteer  ser 
vice  ;  they  knew  everything  about  prices ;  they  understood  the 
character  of  the  country  ;  they  understood  the  Indians.  Two 
of  them  were  officers  of  the  army,  having  no  ties  to  connect  them 
with  the  people  of  the  territory,  having  no  associations  to  swerve 
them  in  the  slightest  degree  from  having  the  most  faithful  and 
vigilant  eye  to  the  interests  of  the  government.  I  would  be 
very  glad  if  the  chairman  of  this  committee  would  take  the 
trouble  to  call  upon  the  Quartermaster  General  and  ascertain 
from  him  the  character  of  Capt.  Ingalls,  one  of  the  officers  of 
that  commission.  He  will  ascertain  that  there  is  no  officer  in 'the 
whole  Quartermaster's  service  who  is  esteemed  to  be  his  superior 
either  in  ability  or  character.  He  will  find  that  Capt.  Smith, 
the  president  of  that  commission,  a  gentleman  who  served  many 


11 

years  in  southern  Oregon,  is  esteemed  throughout  the  service 
also  as  a  man  of  experience  and  integrity.  The  third  gentle 
man,  Mr.  Grover,  was,  it  is  true,  a  citizen  of  Oregon  ;  but  he 
was  selected  in  consequence  of  already  having  had  experience 
on  commissions,  where  his  duties  were  discharged  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  government  here. 

Mr.  Chairman,  this  committee  is  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  the 
course  taken  by  that  commission  in  making  their  awards.  They 
state  explicitly,  under  the  responsibility  of  their  oaths,  that  they 
travelled  through  both  territories  extensively  ;  that  they  ascer 
tained  the  prices  current  of  the  several  markets  ;  that  they  pre 
pared — prepared,  Mr.  Chairman,  carefully-adjusted  prices  cur 
rent  for  these  several  markets,  and  they  made  their  awards  in 
conformity  with  these  carefully-adjusted  prices  current.  This  is 
their  official  declaration.  They  state,  furthermore,  that  in  all 
cases  of  doubt  they  took  sworn  testimony,  and  the  sworn  testi 
mony  of  disinterested  witnesses — not  of  the  parties,  but  of  dis 
interested  witnesses.  Now,  I  submit  to  this  committee  whether 
they  have  the  slighest  evidence  before  them,  in  the  report  of  the 
ThirdjjAuditor,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and  to  which  I  will  now 
proceed  to  call  your  attention,  to  rebut  this  explicit,  this  forcible, 
and  this  official  statement  of  the  commission  itself.  In  touching 
upon  the  report  of  the  Auditor,  I  feel  bound  to  express  the 
-opinion  that  the  report  shows  that  the  Auditor  has  a  very  bitter 
prejudice  against  our  claims ;  and  I  submit  that  the  report  itself 
shows  that  this  prejudice  incapacitates  him  from  making  even  the 
examination  which  his  own  records  would  enable  him  to  make, 
small  and  fruitless  as  that  examination  may  be. 

The  first  evidence  which  I  adduce  of  the  bitter  hostility  and 
prejudice  of  the  Auditor,  is  the  fact  that  he  has  not  complied 
with  the  resolutions  of  the  last  House  of  Representatives.  In 
express  terms,  those  resolutions  required  him  to  make  a  report 
of  the  amount  due  to  each  company  and  individual  in  the  ser 
vice.  Why  has  he  not  complied  with  this  resolution  ?  Why 
has  he  failed  to  report  the  amount  due  to  each  individual  ? 
He  has  reported  nothing  of  the  kind.  Why  does  he  occupy 
almost  eleven  entire  pages,  from  page  4  to  page  14,  in  inquir 
ing  into  the  causes  of  the  war,  presenting  the  fact  that  there 
was  not  harmony  and  agreement  between  the  territorial  execu 
tives  and  Gen.  Wool — between  the  regulars  and  the  volunteers — 
speculating  about  the  probable  results,  if  there  had  been  such 
harmony  and  agreement — quoting  the  opinions  of  Wool,  Cram, 
and  others,  in  regard  to  these  subjects,  &c.  ?  Does  he  have  any 
warrant  in  the  resolutions  of  the  last  House  for  this  procedure  ? 
Do  they  call  upon  him  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  war,  and 
to  indulge  in  all  these  speculations,  or  do  they  exact  from  him  a 
report  of  the  amount  due  to  each  company  and  each  individual 
engaged- in  that  volunteer  service,  according  to  the  rules  estab- 


12 

lished  in  those  resolutions  ?  He  has  travelled  out  of  the  record 
without  warrant,  and  he  has  failed  to  make  the  report  which  he 
was  required  to  make.  I  will  now  read  to  the  committee  certain 
extracts  from  his  report,  as  follows  : 

"  The  rank  and  number  of  the  field  and  staff  are  in  accordance  with  the 
organization  of  the  army  of  the  United  States  in  time  of  war,  and  any  officer,  or 
number  of  officers,  of  higher  rank,  or  beyond  what  is  recognized  by  said  organ 
ization,  has  been  reduced  accordingly.  Similar  reductions  have  been  made,  in 
a  few  instances,  in  the  officers  of  small  squads  of  men  called  companies." 
"  After  the  date  of  the  discharge  of  the  last  of  the  volunteers,  no  staff  or  other 
officers,  except  quartermasters  and  commissaries,  have  been  reported  for  pay, 
and  after  said  time  the  quartermasters  and  commissaries  have  been  allowed, 
with  their  clerks,  three  months  additional  to  make  out  and  close  their  accounts." 
"  Quartermasters  and  commissaries,  where  they  appear  to  have  been  actually 
doing  duty,  and  to  have  rendered  accounts,  have  been  recognized.  The  nature 
of  the  service  in  a  sparsely  settled  country  is  presumed  to  have  required  the 
number  actually  on  duty.  Some  of  them  have,  however,  been  reduced  in  rank, 
and  of  course  as  to  pay,  whilst  a  few  others,  who  seemed  to  have  performd  no 
duty  and  rendered  no  returns,  have  been  stricken  off  entirely." 

Now,  what  authority  had  he  to  take  this  course  ?  What 
authority  had  he  to  determine,  sitting  in  his  office,  how  many 
aid-de-camps  the  executive  either  of  Oregon  or  Washington  should 
have — how  many  staff  officers  were  required  in  connection  with 
the  movement  of  the  troops — what  quartermasters,  commissaries, 
surgeons,  and  assistant  surgeons,  the  service  needed?  When  he 
had  ascertained  from  the  papers  the  service  of  any  individual, 
what  authority  had  he  to  go  behind  the  record,  except  to  apply 
to  the  term  of  service  thus  reported  the  rules  and  compensation 
laid  down  in  the  resolutions  ?  I  will  now  call  the  attention  of 
the  members,^  this  committee  who  served  upon  it  during  the 
35th  Congress  to  the  hearing  at  the  last  session,  when  we  under 
took  to  vindicate  the  employment  of  all  these  men.  We  were 
going  into  that  matter  fully,  and  the  entire  committee,  every  man 
of  them — yourself,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  all  the  old  members  who 
were  here  present  will  recollect  it — you  all  said  that  you  were 
entirely  satisfied  about  that ;  you  had  no  doubt  but  that  every 
one  was  needed,  and  it  was  unnecessary  to  consume  time  in 
arguing  that  point ;  but  you  desired  us  to  proceed  to  other  points 
wherein  there  was  doubt  and  difficulty.  I  adduce  this,  too, 
as  another  evidence  that  from  his  prejudice  and  hostility,  he 
was  incapable  of  understanding  the  resolutions  of  the  house,  and 
that  he  went  into  an  examination,  and  took  action,  not  or\\y  un 
warranted  by  the  resolutions,  but  which,  if  it  could  have  been 
anticipated,  he  would  have  been  excluded  from  by  an  express 
proviso  in  those  resolutions. 

Now,  the  territorial  executives  and  the  proper  officers  in  the 
volunteer  service,  absolutely  certify  to  the  actual  and  positive  ser 
vices  of  the  volunteers.  The  commission,  after  full  and  thorough 
investigation,  give  their  official  sanction  to  the  fact  that  these 
men  were  actually  engaged  in  the  public  service  according  to 


13 

the  roll  which  they  transmit;  and  I  submit  that  it  is  contrary  to 
common  experience  and  to  common  sense,  that  an  auditing  officer 
in  this  government  should  go  behind  such  record,  unless  he  has 
the  evidence  to  sustain  fraud,  either  upon  the  part  of  the  com 
mission  or  of  the  territorial  authorities.  Has  the  Auditor  any 
evidence  of  such  fraud  ?  He  does  not  pretend  that  he  has  any 
evidence  whatever,  looking  to  anything  of  the  kind.  We 
therefore  protest  against  any  auditor  or  any  clerk  in  the  depart 
ments  prescribing  the  numbers  and  the  grades  6~f  officers  required 
in  a  service,  which,  for  the  difficulty  of  management  and  the 
extent  of  field  over  which  it  operated,  has  no  parallel  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  We  submit  that  this  committee  can  with 
safety  put  more  confidence  in  the  decision  of  experienced  men 
who  examined  the  whole  thing  at  the  very  seat  of  operations, 
than  they  can  in  the  decisions  of  an  auditor,  sitting  in  his  office 
in  the  treasury  building.  In  these  remarks,  I  wish  the  committee 
to  understand  I  have  no  disposition  to  call  in  question  the  purity 
of  motive,  or  integrity  of  the  Third  Auditor.  I  have  never 
called  it  in  question  ;  but  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  endeavor  to  show 
what  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  resolutions  of  the  House  referred 
this  matter  to  an  authority  which  was  incapable  of  making  an  ex 
amination  ;  and  I  submit  that  his  own  report  has  proved  that  he 
was  incapable  of  such  an  examination.  The  examination  could 
only  be  made  by  dispatching  a  commission  to  that  country,  by 
travelling  over  that  country,  by  getting  full  and  thorough  evi 
dence,  by  testing  every  case  of  doubt  by  sworn  testimony ;  that 
is,  by  pursuing  the  precise  course  which  we  know,  from  their 
official  report,  the  commission  itself  pursued. 

Now  if  you  will  look  at  the  prices  furnished  by  the  auditor  him 
self,  of  purchases  and  employments  in  the  regular  service,  you  will 
have  other  proofs  of  the  unfairness  of  his  awards  in  carrying  out 
the  resolutions  of  the  House.  Before  entering  upon  this,  however, 
let  me  protest  against  any  inference  being  drawn  as  to  prices 
current  in  that  country,  from  the  purchases  made  in  the  regular 
service.  They  are  no  criterion  whatever.  The  prices  current 
cannot  be  ascertained  until  you  know  the  peculiar  circumstan 
ces  of  each  transaction.  That  is  the  largest  element  affecting 
the  proper  price  to  be  paid  for  labor  or  for  supplies.  The  price 
will  be  variously  affected,  other  circumstances  being  the  same, 
according  to  the  quantities  required,  according  to  the  amount  in 
the  market,  according  to  the  longer  or  shorter  time  in  which 
the  delivery  has  to  be  made.  All  these  circumstances  have 
the  greatest  influence  upon  prices,  and  all  ought  to  be  known 
before  any  person  should  presume  to  lay  down  a  price  current 
for  any  article.  Now,  in  the  regular  service,  nearly  all  their 
purchases  were  already  made ;  nearly  all  their  employments 
were  arranged.  Their  purchases  in  many  things  were  ridicu 
lously  small,  which  did  not  especially  affect  the  market.  The 


14 

question  is,  in  ascertaining  the  prices  current,  not  what  the- 
regular  service  paid,  but  what  the  volunteer  service  would 
have  had  to  pay,  had  it  gone  into  the  market  with  cash  in 
pocket  instead  of  scrip  in  hand.  That  is  what  has  got  to  be 
ascertained.  Now  if  the  regular  service,  in  addition  to  their 
usual  purchases,  had  been  called  upon  to  make  all  the  purchases 
made  by  the  volunteers,  and  to  make  them  in  the  country  where 
the  volunteers  made  them,  and  to  have  gone  into  all  the  additional 
employments  of  the  volunteer  service,  I  state  emphatically,  that, 
with  cash  in  hand,  they  would  have  been  compelled  to  have  paid 
about  the  prices  paid  by  the  volunteer  service ;  and  that  is  the 
only  way  to  get  at  the  prices  current.  Could  the  Auditor  do 
this  ?  What  did  he  know  about  the  circumstances  of  each  par 
ticular  case  ?  Now  I  will  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the 
fact  that  a  great  many  of  these  purchases  were  made  in  pursu 
ance  of  written  contracts.  This  was  especially  the  case  on  Pu- 
get  Sound.  There,  if  the  merchants  entered  into  contracts  to 
deliver  certain  supplies  in  large  quantities,  and  within  very  short 
periods  of  time,  they  were  obliged  to  hire  money  and  go  down 
to  San  Francisco  to  purchase  on  a  sudden,  without  having  time 
to  take  advantage  of  the  market  or  to  attend  auction  sales,  and 
then  they  had  to  make  arrangements  to  ship  them  at  once  and 
guard  against  delay.  All  these  were  circumstances  which  tend 
ed  very  much  to  increase  the  cost  of  the  supplies.  I  recollect 
that  at  the  time  I  thought  the  service  had  been  exceedingly 
fortunate  in  the  favorable  character  of  the  contracts  made. 

But  let  us  come  to  the  Auditor's  own  figures.  First,  in  regard 
to  the  employment  of  persons.  He  states  what  were  the  prices 
paid  in  the  regular  service  for  herders,  packers,  teamsters, 
clerks,  expressmen,  &c.,  at  each  regular  post  in  Oregon  and 
Washington,  during  that  Indian  war.  You  find  that  practically 
the  lowest  price  paid  for  a  teamster,  a  herder,  or  a  packer,  was 
two  dollars  per  day,  and  that  the  price  ranged  from  two  dollars 
per  day  to  five  dollars  per  day.  For  this  very  service  at  the 
different  posts,  you  will  find  that  the  average  amounts  to  about 
three  dollars  per  day,  and  that  there  were  several  posts  where 
in  no  case  less  than  three  dollars  per  day  was  paid,  and  where  it 
rose  to  as  high  a  figure  as  four  and  five  dolars.  The  cases  which 
the  Auditor  quotes  of  labor  at  one  dollar  per  day  were  cases  of 
the  hire  of  Indians,  as  I  personally  know;  and  those  cases  of 
between  one  and  two  dollars  per  day  were  either  cases  of  Indians, 
or  of  men  employed  for  long  periods,  and  who  generally  were 
half-breeds.  Now,  the  Auditor  allows  the  volunteers,  for  this 
same  service,  a  uniform  rate  of  two  dollars  per  day.  He  is 
directed  to  scale  the  prices  according  to  the  prices  current  in 
the  country,  and  his  action  is  to  give  us  the  minimum  price  paid 
in  the  regular  service.  So  in  the  higher  grades  ;  in  the  regular 
service  they  pay  chief  packers  as  high  as  six  dollars  per  day, 


15 

and  agents  in  purchasing  animals  as  high  as  nine  dollars  per 
day.  The  Auditor  allows  the  volunteers  four  and  five  dollars. 
In  the  regular  service,  for  what  mules  they  hired,  they  uniformly 
paid  three  dollars  per  day  ;  the  Auditor  allows  the  volunteers  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter  per  day.  They  paid  in  the  regular  service 
as  high  as  two  dollars  a  day  for  horses  ;  the  Auditor  allows  the 
volunteers  one  dollar  a  day  ;  also  rates  as  high  as  two  dollars 
and  a  half  per  day  were  paid  for  foraging  and  stabling  horses  ; 
one  dollar  per  day  for  pasturage  and  stabling  horses  ;  three  dol 
lars  per  day  for  the  hire  of  oxen  per  yoke  ;  and  ten  dollars  per 
day  for  the  hire  of  ox-teams  with  driver.  If  these  rates  be 
compared  with  the  rates  paid  in  the  volunteer  service,  the  differ 
ence  will  be  found  to  be  comparatively  inconsiderable. 

The  Auditor,  therefore,  has  not  given  the  volunteers  the  benefit 
of  this  maximum  in  the  regular  service  in  the  matters  just  referred 
to.  His  own  figures  show  that  as  regards  the  employment  of  men 
or  the  hire  of  animals,  he  has  reduced  the  prices  in  the  volunteer 
service  to  much  below  the  average  cash  prices  in  the  regular  ser 
vice,  and  has  established  a  uniform  rate,  where  his  own  figures  show 
how  prices  differ  from  market  to  market,and  it  was  perfectly  easy, 
from  an  examination  of  the  accounts,  to  tell  in  which  particular 
locality  the  account  belonged.  If  we  come  to  supplies,  we  shall 
find  that  the  same  practical  injustice  has  been  done  by  the 
Auditor  to  his  own  figures,  in  fixing  the  rates  of  the  volunteer 
service.  In  southern  Oregon  Lieut.  Sweitzer  paid  as  high  as 
five  dollars  a  bushel  for  oats,  and  $150  a  ton  for  hay.  The 
Auditor  allows  us  two  dollars  a  bushe)  for  oats,  and  $44  a  ton 
for  hay ;  and  where  our  purchases  were  below  this  amount,  he 
leaves  them  as  they  were,  without  bringing  them  up  to  the  aver 
age.  Now,  looking  to  the  time  when  Lieut.  Sweitzer  made  these 
purchases  of  hay  and  oats,  it  is  evident  that  they  were  made 
under  circumstance^  very  similar  to  the  circumstances  when  the 
purchases  were  made  for  the  volunteer  service. 

The  country  was  becoming  exhausted  ;  that,  of  course,  rap 
idly  increased  the  prices  of  everything,  and  Lieut.  Sweitzer, 
with  cash,  was  obliged  to  pay  as  high,  or  about  as  high,  as 
the  volunteers  paid  in  scrip.  Why  did  not  the  Auditor  apply 
the  same  rule  to  the  volunteers  as  he  had  applied  to  the 
auditing  of  the  accounts  in  the  regular  service  ?  To  show  the 
fallacy  of  applying  the  prices  paid  in  the  regular  service  to  the 
volunteer  service,  let  me  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to 
the  purchase  of  bacon  in  the  regular  service  at  the  Dalles.  You 
find  that  all  the  bacon  bought  at  the  Dalles  cost  the  regular  ser 
vice  in  cash  forty  cents  per  pound.  Is  it  to  be  inferred,  there 
fore,  that  forty  cents  was  the  cash  price  for  bacon  ?  The  volun 
teers  paid  much  less  than  that,  and  yet  the  Auditor  has  still 
further  reduced  the  price.  When  you  go  a  step  further  and 
look  at  the  quantity,  you  find  that  they  bought  twenty  pounds 


16 

of  bacon,  and  it  was  probably  a  side  of  bacon  picked  up  by  an 
expressman  for  some  special  use.  If  the  regulars  had  been  called 
upon  to  purchase  some  tons  of  bacon,  and  were  not  pushed  for 
time,  they  could  undoubtedly  have  got  it  for  the  price  paid  by 
the  volunteer  service,  and  perhaps  for  a  little  less.  Perhaps 
these  instances  are  enough  to  show  the  whole  fallacy  and  absurd 
ity  of  the  ground  work  of  the  Auditor  in  arriving  at  a  price  cur 
rent.  He  has  got  no  price  current;  he  has  not  got  the  data  to 
establish  a  price  current.  He  knows  nothing,  and  does  not  pre 
sume  to  know  anything  about  the  circumstances  of  each  transac 
tion,  which  is  the  controlling  element  in  the  price.  On  the 
contrary,  so  far  as  we  have  any  evidence  before  us,  in  the  testi 
mony  of  citizens  in  Oregon  who  knew  many  of  these  circumstances, 
and  who  were  familiar  with  the  prices  throughout  the  war,  it  goes 
to  substantiate  the  general  accuracy  of  the  conclusions  of  the 
commission.  Attached  to  this  statement  which  I  hold  in  my 
hand,  of  the  delegation  of  Oregon  and  Washington  in  regard 
to  this  war  debt,  and  to  which  I  will  particularly  call  the  atten 
tion  of  the  committee,  is  a  large  mass  of  testimony,  also  tend 
ing  to  confirm  the  accuracy  of  the  conclusions  of  the  commission 
ers.  Will  you  reject  the  testimony  of  persons  on  the  spot,  who 
are  familiar  with  the  facts  which  go  to  substantiate  the  conclu 
sions  of  the  commission  ?  I  say,  will  you  reject  all  this,  and  fall 
back  upon  the  report  of  the  Auditor,  who  has  no  means  of  get 
ting  at  the  essential  facts  to  enable  him  to  form  a  proper  decision  ? 
I  am  satisfied  that  every  point  of  objection  made  by  the  Auditor, 
in  both  his  first  and  second  reports,  as  regards  prices,  can  be 
met  and  has  been  met  successfully  by  the  commission  itself  in 
its  investigations. 

It  was  a  great  step  for  our  people  to  take,  when  they  agreed 
to  abide  by  the  conclusions  of  this  commission,  even  although  it 
reduced  their  scrip.  Every  citizen  in  both  Oregon  and  Wash 
ington  who  has  scrip  for  services  and  for  supplies,  believes  that 
he  is  honestly  entitled  to  payment  for  that  scrip,  dollar  for  dol 
lar  on  its  face.  They  have  made  a  sacrifice,  and  have  shown  a 
disposition  to  settle  this  matter  upon  equitable  terms,  in  agreeing 
to  abide  by  the  awards  of  the  commission.  They  ask  this,  and 
they  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  this.  If  you  refuse 
to  sanction  the  awards  of  this  commission — if  you  repudiate  the 
action  of  this  commission,  then  the  people  of  those  territories  will 
fall  back  upon  their  scrip,  and  will  demand  payment  for  it,  dollar 
for  dollar. 


T.  MoGiLL,  Printer,  Washington,  D.  C 


